


Gift 

Okrnegie Inst. 
24 lai^Ol 



* • • 



Maryland Institute 



FOR THE 



Promotion of the Mechanic Arts. 



Baltimore, March 16, 1906. 

A special meeting of the Board of Managers was held this 
day at 10.30 A. M., present, John M. Carter, president, in the 
chair, and all the members save a few who were sick or out 
of the city. 

The President announced the object of the meeting was to 
take suitable action upon the death of Otto Fuchs, Principal 
of the Schools of Art and Design of the Institute, which 
occurred March 13th, and to attend his funeral. 

Mr. Carter said: ^'We are under the shade of a great 
disaster. The Maryland Institute and the community have 
met a loss which seems irreparable and each member of 
this board mourns a personal friend. Professor Fuchs died 
Tuesday night after an illness of only two days, and his death 
brings to a close a long and useful career in which he has de- 
voted himself with the greatest energy to the cause of 
technical education. Starting at an early age, he was a teacher 
in drawing at the Cooper Institute, and then spent some 
years in the United States Coast Survey. He became a pro- 
fessor of drawing and mechanical engineering at the Naval 
School, Annapolis, at the time when Admiral D. D. Porter was 
superintendent there. This was when the engineering corps 
of the Navy was educated at Annapolis. Professor Fuchs 
was largely instrumental in installing the machinery and 
appliances of that branch of the school, as well as prom- 
inent in the teaching. 

^ 'From Annapolis he went to Boston, and was with Harrison 
Loring & Co., then the largest shipbuilding firm in this 



country. In the evenings he taught in the drawing schools of 
Boston. When Walter Smith, the distinguished English 
teacher, resigned as principal of the Massachusetts Normal 
Art School to return to England, Professor Fuchs was unani- 
mously elected to take his place. 

^'For a number of years Professor Fuchs saw very active 
service in charge of that school, which included in its direc- 
tion the Boston evening drawing schools. He was then selected 
by the Board of Managers of the Maryland Institute to come 
to this city and become the principal of its schools. 

^^For nearly 23 years he has directed the schools of this 
Institute to the great satisfaction and admiration of the Board 
of Managers and all other advocates of technical education 
with whom he came in contact. 

^^Of wonderful energy and capacity in his work, rarely 
absent a single day or evening from the exercises of the 
schools, every class would be visited by him in both schools, 
lectures delivered, instruction given, teachers encouraged, the 
work of the pupils criticised, and all continued with such an 
industry and activity that his physical capacity seemed to be 
almost without limit. Nearly 1,400 pupils in attendance upon 
the classes attest the high appreciation of his splendid man- 
agement, and the great esteem entertained for him both by 
the faculty and the pupils. 

^^It is wonderful how much he accomplished in his always 
busy and useful life. Thoroughly equipped in every branch 
of technical education, artistic and industrial, his taste and 
skill were of the highest order. His breadth and scope of 
education and training made him alike at home in all branches 
of the school work. Strict and exact as to discipline, he was 
yet an idol with both faculty and pupils, and as he lies down 
to rest, he leaves behind him a fragrant memory among all 
those whom he knew and who loved him in life, as they wiU 
venerate him in death." 

The president invited remarks from any members of the 
Board, but there was no response and Mr. George C. Wilkins 
suggested that in view of the intimate relations which had 
existed so long between Professor Fuchs and the Managers, the 



indisposition or inability of any one present to voice the feel- 
ing of dismay and grief at his sudden taking off was the sin- 
cerest manifestation of the warmth of their affection and the 
depth of their esteem for their dead friend. 

The following minute was then submitted and adopted and 
ordered to be placed on the records of the Board and publish- 
ed in the daily papers: 

^ ^The death of Professor Otto Fuchs comes upon us as a sud- 
den blow, the effects of which can hardly be realized. His 
comings and goings, the daily performance of his perennial 
tasks, his zealous activities, were like the rhythmic move- 
ments of some well-balanced engine whose abrupt stoppage 
jars the whole machinery. To the great work in which for 
nearly a quarter of a century he has been engaged, he gave an 
energy which was marvelous and unremitting, coupled with 
devotion as conscientious as it is rare. His incentive was 
Duty; no allurement, no thought of self, was ever allowed for 
an instant to put it aside. 

' ^The result is an institution first in its class in the education 
provided for young men and women for efi&cient training as 
mechanics and artisans, and thousands owe much of their 
success in their several callings to his instruction, his pre- 
cepts, his example. Our Schools of Art and Design under his 
guiding hand, in the adoption of advanced methods, in com- 
pleteness of work and in earnestness of effort, have achieved 
a record for efficiency, thoroughness and discipline unsur- 
passed by any others. They will be an enduring monument 
to his greatness. 

'^Of an intellect virile, alert and resourceful, with the 
advantage of training in the service of the Government, in 
great industrial establishments, and in other technical insti- 
tutions, he brought to the useful career which has just closed 
here amidst universal sorrow and with every mark of public 
appreciation, a sufficiency of preparation, an independence of 
thought and action, an enthusiasm for every cause and object 
he deemed worthy, which inspired all with whom he came in 
contact, whether instructor or learner, and a broad experience 
which justified his distinction as apt administrator, great 
teacher and successful author. 



^^ His long association with, the members of this Board made 
each of us his loving friend, and to recall his sterling worth, 
his resolution, his steadfastness, makes the parting a bitter one 
and fills our hearts with tears. To the long-time partner of 
his life we extend our tenderest expression of profound sym- 
pathy in her overwhelming loss." 

The Faculty of the Schools presented the following report of 
its action and it was ordered to be included and published 
with that of the Board : 

^^The Faculty of the Maryland Institute Schools of Art and 
Design wish to express to the Board of Managers and to the 
family of the late Professor Fuchs our sympathy and sense of 
personal loss in the great trouble which has come upon us by 
the death of our dear friend and master. 

'^AU who knew him, either as pupils or fellow-laborers, 
knew how to appreciate his untiring efforts for our common 
good, and all who came under his influence felt the warmth of 
his kindness, which made his associates and pupils his friends 
and children and profited by the example of a life led 
unselfishly for the highest ends.' ^ 

The Board then adjourned to attend in a body the funeral 
services at St. Michaels and All Angels P. E. Church, where 
hundreds of the friends, former pupils and associates of Mr. 
Fuchs had assembled to testify by their presence to the respect 
in which he was held. 



An almost unprecedented honor to a private citizen was the 
action taken by the General Assembly of Maryland on the 
death of Professor Fuchs, the following joint resolution having 
been adopted by both the Senate and House of Delegates: 

^^Be it resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, 
That its members have heard with the keenest sensibility the 
distressing intelligence that the useful and honorable life of 
Professor Otto Fuchs of the Maryland Institute Schools of Art 
and Design has come to an end. Gifted beyond the ordinary 
measure of human endowments, irreproachable in point of 
character, placed by his talents and attainments in a situation 



that enabled Mm to leave a deep impression upon the minds 
and energies of many pupils whose careers, creditable both to 
themselves and to the State, have born indisputable testimony 
to the worth of such a preceptor. It is meet that this action 
of the General Assembly of Maryland should enduringly attest 
the high position that he won in the confidence and gratitude 
of the community, whose higher welfare he did so much to 
promote.'^ 

The esteem in which Mr. Fuchs was held by the public is 
evidenced by the following extracts from editorials of the daily 
papers of the city. 

The Sun said : 

^ ' Thousands of persons in Baltimore and elsewhere, some 
young, others in middle life and not a few well advanced in 
years, have heard with profound regret of the sudden death of 
Professor Otto Fuchs, for 23 years director of the Maryland 
Institute Schools of Art and Design. Active, industrious, 
skilled in his profession and full of sympathy for his pupils. 
Professor Fuchs was a successful teacher and manager in one 
of Baltimore's most important institutions. He was a self- 
made man. Coming to America at the age of 12, his first 
employment was in a piano factory, then in an architect and 
civil engineer's office and later in Cooper Institute, where he 
taught mechanical drawing. Kight schools enabled him to 
advance in theory as fast as experience was gained in practice. 
From mechanical drawing he extended his studies to free-hand 
drawing, and ultimately mastered other branches of design, so 
as to become well-fitted for the post of professor of drawing in 
the ^N'aval Academy at Annapolis and for the direction of the 
mechanical and architectural departments in an art school at 
Boston. Thence he came to Baltimore and justified his prac- 
tical training by excellent results in the management of the 
Institute. In addition to his culture in art. Professor Fuchs 
was well fitted for his work by a cordial and attractive manner 
that won him the love and esteem not only of pupils, but of 
the public generally. Popularity in his case is a testimonial 
of capacity, skill, energy, probity and love of one's fellow- 
man." 



8 

The German Correspondent thus gave voice to the sorrow of 
the German section of our people : 

^* After but three days illness with pneumonia Professor 
Otto Fuchs, the eminent instructor at the Maryland Institute 
and its Principal for many years, has peacefully passed away. 
His death is a heavy loss to the city; still a heavier loss to the 
Institute which his untiring efforts have brought to such a 
flourishing condition. * * 5|< ^ During the twenty-three years 
in which he devoted all his energy, his vast experience and 
practical knowledge to the Institute he has brought its schools 
to a high standard of perfection — a model Academy of Art^ 
which can hold its own alongside the best in the land. He 
was an excellent pedagogue, with a quick eye and the requisite 
amount of enterprise. What he approved as beneficial, he 
attained by an iron will and determination, jjc i}i * * 

^ ^Professor Fuchs was a glorious man; although he arrived 
in this country as a boy and became a thorough American, he 
remained at the same time a staunch German, and belonged 
to many German Associations, where he was highly respected 
and much beloved as a man of pleasant manners and sterling 
qualities. His death leaves a vacancy in German circles and 
at the Maryland Institute which it will be hard to fill. Nobody, 
of course, is unreplaceable, but some men do remain unre- 
placed.'^ 

The following extracts from letters received will show the 
wide- spread respect and appreciation of Mr. Fuchs and his 
work: 

His Excellency, Edwin Warfield, Governor of Maryland : — 
^^lam greatly grieved by the death of Professor Fuchs. I 
always respected him, and I realize the great loss which the 
Maryland Institute has sustained through his death." 

His Honor, E. Clay Timanus, Mayor of Baltimore: — ^*I 
shall be present at the church to-morrow morning to pay my 
respects personally to the memory of our friend, Professor 
Fuchs, as well as to represent the city which has lost a valu- 
able citizen." 

M. Bates Stephens, State Superintendent of Public Educa- 
tion : — '^ I am sorry that absence prevented my attendance at 



the funeral of Professor Fuchs, for I was anxious to show 
respect to the memory of the man who had filled such a large 
place in the educational sphere. I regret more than I can tell 
you his sad death. ^^ 

J. H. Van Sickle, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Baltimore : — ^'It is with much regret that I hear of the death 
of Professor Fuchs. His work in the City of Baltimore has 
made his name a household word. 

Col. I. Edwards Clarke, U. S. Bureau of Education: — ^^The 
Maryland Institute, the City of Baltimore and the pause of Art 
Education have all met with a great loss.^^ 

Leslie W. Miller, Principal School of Applied Art, Phila- 
delphia : — '^Professor Fuchs was one of my most respected 
instructors more than a quarter of a century ago, and I cherish 
in connection with his memory sentiments of personal regard as 
deep and warm as my admiration for his personal ability and 
faithfulness was genuine and sincere. In his death Art Educa- 
tion in America has lost an earnest and efficient officer and 
a generation of students a genial and sympathetic friend. '^ 

John M. Hering, secretary of the Builders^ Exchange: — 

^^We have learned with deep regret of the death of Prof. Otto 
Fuchs. The news came with a shock to our members, all of 
whom were especially endeared to him. He was a warm 
friend of the Builders^ Exchange, and on several occasions 
delivered most interesting addresses before our association. 

"We feel that the educational interests of our city have 
suffered a most serious loss by the passing away of the Pro- 
fessor, whose success in developing in the young men of our 
city and State a practical knowledge of the mechanic arts has 
never been surpassed.'^ 



The Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland 
paid the following tribute: 

"His long and loyal devotion to the interests of this society- 
together with his signal abilities in the arts, sciences and litera, 
ture,of which he so often gave proof when participating in its 
deliberations, has left a void that can never be filled. The proud 



10 

achievement that crowns his life's labors, accomplished by his 
superior administrative talent, and indomitable energy and 
aptitude as a preceptor and guide of our youth, constitutes 
an imperishable memorial. 

^^The imposing honors accorded his remains by a sorrowing 
community and their highest representatives in the govern- 
ment of our City and State were but a partial reflex of the life 
devoted to developing the latent talents of our youth, and 
kindling the fires of ambition's noble rage." 

The Technological Society of Baltimore, uttered this gen- 
erous expression: 

^^The Technological Society of Baltimore mourns in the 
departure of Professor Otto Fuchs the eminent Technologist 
and Teacher, the unassailable character, the true and self- 
sacrificing friend, and one of its most energetic members. 

' 'His long and useful activity in the realms of the liberal and 
applied arts as well as his personal and intellectual qualities 
will always remain a glowing example to his many friends 
and colleagues and perpetuate him in their memory." 



11 



PROFESSOR OTTO FUCHS. 



Say not of him who lieth there 

That he is dead. 
From that hushed heart so unaware 

For age shall spread 

The influence of fullest years 

Of greatest good, 
And when the grief-dimmed vision clears 

He shall be understood. 

It shall be known how his firm hands 

And kindly will 
The path of life for many planned 

And traced, with skill. 

Then those who never knew before, 

And never guessed. 
Shall know the just and generous power 

In this stilled breast. 

There in its long-hid light shall gleam 

This noble soul 
Who gave his life for that life's dream 

Just at the goal. 

Bertha Hoyt Stewart, 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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